After 3 weeks of playing...

[cpbeller]

OK, I have been posting here and there about the game....Now I am going to post WHAT I like, what I don't, and what I would like to see added/taken away. I know that there are SEVERAL posts about it out in this board, but I also see many ppl that dislike the game asks for reasons why ppl like the game....

To set the record straight...I REALLY enjoy this game.

Sure, it is not perfect, and to be honest with you, when i found out about the neutered AI, that was a game buster for me. BUT, thank God for Colin's AI patch (my last game i got wiped out by turn 90)...

Pros:

1. Task Forces. I know that many ppl dislike the concept of Task Forces, but me, I really like it. Gives space combat a sense of "naval warfare"...Plus, with each taskforce having a specific mission, makes it easier for me to keep track of different ships.

2. Diplomacy. I know, diplomacy COULD have been better (like, why is this race declaring war on me?). BUT, I also see some realism in this. Allies for the most part, CONTINUE to be allies, and more important, support you in wars. As far as the seemingly ridiculous declarations of war, I see that as just alien empires not seeing eye to eye...and when that happens, sometimes, war is inevitable.

3. Spying. Spying plays a VERY important factor in this game, which i really like...the idea of spies performing missions, terrorizing alien civilians...I really like the feel of it.

4. Fighters. I have always been fascinated with fighters...be it WWI Fighters, WWII fighters...or Tie Fighters....the Fighters in this game seems to be an integral part of space combat, and I really like that. Plus, with the 2 "types" of fighters, Space Superiority and Intercepters...I just really like this aspect of the game.

5. Leaders. I think the leaders are implemented pretty good in the game...I think that maybe they die too easily, or don't stay around too long, but i heard that that can be modded, just not sure how to do that.

6. The planetary AI. I am not really into micromanagement...that is one the ONLY reasons that i have issues with SE4. When i get to mid game, the amount of ships, planets, tech....ect. just gets out of hand...in MoO3, the planetary AI does a decent job....I have modded my game to where I can manually add things like Hydroponic farms and so on, but i have also noticed that the AI almost ALWAYS beats me adding it to the build queu.

7. Space Combat. I very rarely actually take control of space combat. I usually just let the AI control it, and in the bigger fleet battles, i like to watch. It is like a light show, plus, with the higher res ships (modded), the ships are much more detailed (and pressing "G", takes out that ugly green grid).

8. Ground Combat. I think the ground combat is detailed enough...This is a good feature I think.

9. Government Policies. I like the idea of setting how much my empire will oppress my civilians. I like setting the taxes, planet-wide, system-wide, Imperial-Wide. For the most part, I really like the Government Policies, although, I really wished that they didn't get rid of all the other things (like the amount of slavery, ect.)....

10. Tech. Yes, I like the Tech, and the way tech moves. Not out of the box, mind you...I modded it using Colin's mod, which slows it down considerably so I can enjoy the fruits of my scientific labor. But, I do like how the tech tree flows...not every level will give you something, and not every empire will get everything, or the same things every game...that i like, have to roll with the punches...

11. Economics. The more I study the Finance screen, the more I realize that there is ALOT going on...What those things are, I am not sure yet....but as far as the undetailed detail, I really like it...

12. Ship Design. Granted, the ship design is a trimmed down version of SE4...I still like it. It takes some getting used to. Like weapons...and using mounts and the different types of lasers...

13. Planetary Specials. A bigger, broader, extended version of the ruins of SE4's planets...I like much.

Now, for the things i don't like:

1. Interface. The interface is a strange beast...In some ways, it works good...in other places...well....not so good. Some examples:

- When I am in a planets screen, I click on the screen that lets me see the queues, taxes and so forth, well, I cannot any longer see the name of the planet...when i have 50+ planets, I would like to always be able to see the name of the planet i am looking at...at all time...minor, i know...but still...

- When I am designing a ship, once i accept that design, if i click on any of the three options (hull size, mission, or type), it switches back to Lancer/Orbital/Long range...I have figured out a way to keep it from doing that, just click on "current designs" tab, then back...it doesn't reset everything....but that is still a slight pain...

- In the Planets screen, I can only see what the planet is currently building...I wish there was a way to see the other two slots in the queu, AND be able to change them without going to the planet itself and changing it.

These are just a few of the interface deals that i dislike...there are more, oh yes, there are....

2. Military Queues. This is a mixed bag of experience...In most of my games, the AI built a good mix of ships....I always had enough of whatever taskforce i was putting together...but in my last game, all the AI was building for me was Recon ships and Carriers...I had to force build Short range, and long range...

3. Tech speed. Straight out of the box, tech goes WAY too fast for me...IF tech was supposed to be that fast, then I think production of the ships should have been upped considerably...I was never fighting with top of the line ships...they were always 3 generations at least too old from my current designs...

4. Manual. This is a BIGGIE for me, although, I can get over it. I think a manual for ANY game should be useful...I think that a manual for a game of this magnitude should be EXPECTED...Civ3's manual was a decent manual...and I think MoO3 is a bigger game that that...instead, all i got was a 140 page short story. The manual was probably one of my biggest let downs in the game. I know that they are putting out a new manual online...but still, just wished the game manual was better...

5. Neutered AI. This is really a game buster for me. But, Colin's mod does fix much of it...still though, not very much ground assaults...if the AI could learn how to do that, then the AI will be a MUCH greater foe...

6. Finance Screen. I know above i said i liked the economics in the game...that does not mean i like how the economics is shown to the player. I think there needs to be something there telling me how much AU's I am getting for my left over food/minerals....that is just one thing in the economics screen that I think should have been better.

7. Diplo Spies. A lot could have been done with these guys...but, as it is right now, they are useless....just use military spies....

8. Diplomacy. There is one area of diplomacy that i really do not like. Not being able to offer what I want to offer, either as a gift, or an exchange. Why would i need an empire B to declare war on the New Orions, when I am at war with empire C? Or, why would i offer to give them a planet, when I only want to give them 100 AU's? or 150 Minerals? I really think this hampers the diplomacy relationship building between empires...If only we could have the EU2 diplomacy system....and peace negotians system at that...

9. Enemy ships. Is there a way for me to see what ships the enemy has? Like, hull sizes at least? Also, what types of weapons and all do they have? should sensors and scanners be able to pick that stuff up? OR, is it, and I just can't find the info?

10. Continuation of Ground Warfare. Once I capture a planet, I need to wait several turns to continue the march to the next planet. I wish there was a way for me to just load up troops into some transports, and move on to the next target. Also, is there ANY way to determine what planet to attack without taking control of the fleet battle itself? Also, can i have some transports drop troops on planet A, then drop more on planet B? These are things that I would like to see in ground combat...

11. NBC attacks. I was in the US army, 54 Bravo. NBC. I really wish that NBC was used a bit more properly....or if it is, explanation as to how? Like, Nuclear weapons should ruin some of the planet...like a region or something...Biological should do something to enemy morale. Chemical should "hang" around a region for x amount of turns, and actually cause problems with population growth. All NBC weapons should do considerable amount of damage in fighting...I think that the use of these weapons should add alot more to the tactics of taking a planet than they do.

Now, I do VERY much like this game...I think that this is a great game, and a game of great potential. I think if the patches can fix many of the issues that it shipped with, than this game WILL become a classic.

Would I recommend this to a friend? YES. Have I? YES. Did they buy it? YES....now, did they like it? after 2 hours of playing, no. He said it was too complex. Now, before ppl start to yell that i screwed over my friend...I told him that he will need to spend MUCH time learning the game. That after 2 weeks, I am still learning many of the basics. I told him it was a VERY complex game...and would take TIME. He still bought it...and, like i said, after 2 hours of playing (I am not joking, he only played it for 2 hours, played as the Psilons), he packed it up, said he didn't like it....He also said he hated SE4 (too complex, lacking graphics also)...Civ3 (said it was too much)....he said he likes Civ2 (not sure how though....)....He says he is a strategy game fan, but he does not have the patiance to learn those types of games...go figure.

Overall, with the things that i personally don't like about the game, I am STILL glad I "wasted" 50 bucks on it...I would do it again if I could go back in time...

And to answer any questions as to why I am not playing it right now...I am kinda afraid to start a new game...I have difficulty stopping once i start....and I do have a family (wife and 20 month old son) I like to spend some time with too. My last two games, once I started, I had to pretty much tear myself away from the computer to go to bed, work, ect.....

I understand if other ppl do not like it, it is not for everyone. I also understand that the game was released somewhat incomplete...I have just accepted that, used the mods that I like, and I am enjoying the game.

Now, I am off for Galactic Domination....

[vmxa1]

I think it took a fair amount of effort to put the post together and the only two things I could nitpick was the Spies terrorizing the pop, I think it is often coming out of nowhere.
The other was if I had a friend that did not like SE4, I would surely tell him to skip Moo3. My friend loved Moo and Moo2 and saw I had Moo3, but I knew it was too detailed for him.

[asleepathewheel]

Good post, theres really nothing here I can disagree with, i feel the same way about your complaints

luckily the ai is being patched

the mods do help considerably.

[Zanman]

2: Diplomacy is far more subtle than it appears. If you ally with race 1 that is hostile to race 2 then race 2 is inclined to be antsy. Actually, I think it's so subtle that race 2's allies may get involved.

[wraith717]

I guess the only thing I can find troubling with your reasoning is that you had to mod the game several times to get it where you wanted it. Most of the people playing this game will probably not mod it (I still haven't).

I would much rather have preferred that quicksilver had incorporated this from the beginning or that they would release an official set of upgrades (I know they are working on it) that incorporated even some of these user community mods.

Wraith

[Raion]

Diplomacy takes several turns. The reason, is that, one will have to keep track of what was going on before.

If you attack an ally of the species, then they are declaring war for a reason, and that may have been last turn, or turn before.

Don't look at the Galaxy of Information, except for knowledge of what is going on.

Just better weapons, to redesign those Space Ships, that will defend you from them.

So, the interface is fine, because it is a Galaxy of Information, some of it important, and some of it not.

It just comes all across to you from the main Galactic computer, and the Emperor gets to see it all.

Doesn't mean one needs it all.

Just know, that the player, has no right to exist, and to design those ships, and make the other ones obselete or any ship, the emperor does not want for a ship.

You can un-obselete them if you need them, and can obselete the other ships you thought you needed.

Little ships don't go as far, bigger ships, run across the Galaxy, and get the Emperor more information, and other species.

None, who will tell the player, that they think the player is an alien specie, and not to be trusted.



Adopt an alien specie today!!